Panic proof lock set

ABSTRACT

A &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;panic proof&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; lock set including a spring latch and dead bolt wherein turning of the inside knob retracts the spring latch and the dead bolt simultaneously. A two lobed cam carried by the inside knob actuates a push rod which turns a crank coupled to the dead bolt operating mechanism such that the dead bolt is retracted. The outside hardware including a keyed lock and outside knob and rosette are held in place by screws extending from a retainer plate on the inside surface of the door. The retaining screws do not extend through the cavity under the inside escutcheon so as to allow maximum room for the mechanism which couples the interior knob to the dead bolt.

"United States Patent 191 Nolin Oct. 7, 1975 PANIC PROOF LOCK SET [75]Inventor: Roger J. Nolin, Monterey Park,

Calif.

22 Filed: Dec. 18,1973

[21] Appl. N0.Z 425,736

[52] US. Cl. 292/34; 70/107; 70/462;

292/35; 292/36 [51] Int. Cl. E05B 63/14 [58] Field of Search 70/107,462; 292/36, 47,

292/48, 139, 196, 244, 245, 138, 195, 184, 231, DIG. 25, 34, 35

3,017,760 l/l962 Jones....

Tomoe et al. 70/107 Eads et a1. 70/107 Primary ExaminerAlbert G. Craig,Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmStanley W. Sokoloff [57] ABSTRACT A panicproof lock set including a spring latch and dead bolt wherein turning ofthe inside knob retracts the spring latch and the dead boltsimultaneously. A two lobed cam carried by the inside knob actuates apush rod which turns a crank coupled to the dead bolt operatingmechanism such that the dead bolt is retracted. The outside hardwareincluding a keyed lock and outside knob and rosette are held in place byscrews extending from a retainer plate on the inside surface of thedoor. The retaining screws do not extend through the cavity under theinside escutcheon so as to allow maximum room for the mechanism whichcouples the interior knob to the dead bolt.

5 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 1 of53,910,613

US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet2 0f5 3,910,613

US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 3 of5 3,910,613

f mal.

US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet4 of5 3,910,613

US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 5 of5 3,910,613

fig 14 PANIC PROOF LOCK SET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention The field of this invention is door locks, and particularlyso-called panic proof door locks of the dead bolt type which can beunlocked and opened by turning only one knob.

2. Prior Art A high security lock system for a building door normallyinvolves both a spring latch, for convenience in opening and closing anunlocked door, and a dead bolt for securely locking the door. The deadbolt conventionally penetrates the jamb over an inch in order to protectagainst the possibility of the jamb or door being sprung enough todisengage the bolt from the jamb and may be extended and retracted witha key from the outside or a thumb turn from the inside. The spring latchis knob operated from either side.

There have been a disturbing number of instances in which a person onthe inside ofa building in a panic situation, such as a fire, has failedto open a door leading to safety simply because, in the emergency, hefailed to appreciate that the dead bolt and spring latch must be bothretracted in order to open the door. Recently, there has been a movementto protect against this problem by the use of the so-called panic prooflock. In such a lock, the spring latch and dead bolt are indepen-' dentmechanisms, as always, but an additional mechanism is provided to couplethe interior knob to the dead bolt so that when the interior knob isturned, not only is the spring latch retracted, but the dead bolt, ifextended, is retracted also.

Prior art mechanisms for accomplishing the desired result are generallyrelatively complicated devices using levers and gears in combination.These devices are also unidirectional; that is, different parts arerequired for a lock for a left opening door and for a right opening doorresulting in extra expense and inconvenience. The invented lock isextremely simple, which makes for lower cost, and the same lock can beinstalled in either left or right opening doors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A dead bolt assembly with a rotary actuatorwhich requires one-quarter turn to either extend or retract the bolt, iscoupled to a crank which is arranged to be vertical when the bolt isretracted and horizontal toward the edge of the door when the bolt isextended. A generally H shaped push rod, constrained to move vertically,moves the crank to the vertical position when the push rod is moved toits upward limit. The push rod is spring loaded downward but is urgedupward by a two lobed cam attached to the inside door knob. The doorknobs also operate a conventional spring latch. Thus, if the dead boltis in the locked position, the crank on the dead bolt assembly will bein the horizontal position and a turn of the inside knob will not onlyretract the spring latch, but will cause the push rod to rise moving thedead bolt crank to the vertical position, opening the door. The outsidedoor knob operates the spring latch but does not turn the inside knob sothat it is not effective to unlock the dead bolt.

In the typical installation, the dead bolt may be extended or retractedby a key on the outside of the door or a thumb turn on the inside of thedoor and it may also be retracted by turning the knob on the inside ofLII the door, thus providing a door lock with a dead bolt which may beunlocked and opened from the inside in one operation, merely by turningthe inside knob.

The invented mechanism is completely symmetrical meaning that the deadbolt and latch can extend in either direction from the lock so as toallow installation on either left opening or right opening doors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a broken section of a portion of adoor in which an embodiment of the invented lock is installed.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the invented lock at 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the invented lock taken at 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the invented lock taken at 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the dead bolt assembly of theinvented lock in the locked position taken at 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the dead bolt assembly in the openposition taken at 6-6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a broken sectional view of the invented lock showing the deadbolt-in the locked position.

FIG. 8 is a broken sectional view of the lock showing the dead bolt inthe open position.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken at 99 of FIG. 7 showing the push rodand associated springs.

FIG. 10 is a broken sectional partial view showing how theinsideescutcheon is secured.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing how the internalescutcheon assembly and retainer plate assemble.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the spring latch assembly taken at 12l2of FIG. 3.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the spring latch assembly taken at 13-13of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a partial sectional view of the spring latch assembly takenat 14-14 of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring first to FIG. 1 whereinis shown a small section of the interior of a door 10 and its associatedjamb 11 including a panic proof lock, designated generally by thenumeral 12. On the face of jamb 11 is a striker plate 13 having twoopenings 14 and 15 to receive dead bolt 16 and spring latch 17respectively. The jamb is cut out behind the openings with a pair ofrecesses 18 and 19 which allow dead bolt 16 and spring latch 17 to passthrough the striker plate 13 to lock the door. Guides 20 and 21 positionthe dead bolt 16 and spring latch 17 so they will mate with the openings14 and 15 in striker plate 13. When either dead bolt 16 or spring latch17 is in its extended position, as is shown in FIG. 1, the door cannotbe opened. Both must be retracted in order to open the door.

Spring latch 17 can be retracted by turning either inside knob 30 oroutside knob 31, however, as will be described below, turning insideknob 30 also retracts dead bolt 16, whereas outside knob 31 operatesspring latch 17 only. Dead bolt 16 can be extended or retracted byturning thumb turn 32 or key 33. Thus, the door may be locked orunlocked by thumb turn 32 or key 33 and opened, when unlocked, byturning either of the knobs 30 or 31. In case of a panic situation. thedoor can also be opened from the inside even though dead bolt 16 isextended, by merely turning knob 30.

The knobs 30 and 31 are coupled to square drive spindles 34 and 35respectively, and are spring loaded so that the knobs may be turned ineither direction approximately a quarter turn against a spring, but whenreleased the spring will cause the knob to return to its initialposition. Outside knob 31 is carried by rosette assembly 39 and interiorknob 30 by escutcheon 38. This mechanism is old in the art and need notbe further described here.

Each of the square drive spindles slips into corresponding square holes40 and 41 in spring latch actuating cams 42 and 43. Cam followers 44 and45, each resting against both cams 42 and 43 but on opposite sides ofthe cams, are linkage coupled to spring latch 17 so that the turning ofthe either knob 30 or 31 will cause its associated cam 42 or 43 to turnand displace cam follower 44 or 45 (depending on which direction theknob was turned) and thereby retract spring latch 17. This mechanism isalso old in the art and has been briefly explained here to show how thetwo knobs can each retract the spring latch turning the other knob. Thespring latch 17 itself is conventional having one side tapered so thatthe striker plate forces it to retract as the door is closed, but onceclosed, a knob must be turned to retract the latch before the door canbe opened.

The dead bolt mechanism is best seen in FIGS. and 6. Actuation isaccomplished by a blade 51 inserted into slot-50. A quarter turn in onedirection causes the dead bolt 16 to extend, and in the other directionto retract. Blade 51 extends between cylinder lock 36 and thumb turn 32through slot 50 so that either key 33 or thumb turn 32 can be used toretract the dead bolt. Crank 37 is attached to thumb turn 32 and isarranged to be in the horizontal position toward the door jamb as shownin FIG. 7 when dead bolt 16 is extended. A quarter turn of the thumbturn 32 bringing the crank 37 to the vertical position retracts deadbolt 16. It should be noted that the same mechanism can be used for leftopening doors as well as right opening doors. The crank 37 will rotatefrom the open vertical position a quarter turn to the horizontalposition toward the door edge, whichever way that is, to extend the deadbolt and lock the door. Other dead bolt mechanisms, i.e. mechanismswhich open by moving the crank from a position away from the edge of thedoor to the vertical, can also be advantageously used with the inventedmechanism. In such a case, the motions are opposite those describedherein but the principle remains the same.

Attached to inside knob 30 is a two lobed cam 60. Cam 60 is positionedsuch that when knob 30 is in its neutral position, the lobes 61 and 62are substantially horizontally aligned, each being in contact with oneleg of push rod 63, a generally H shaped part.

Interior knob 30, thumb turn 32 and push rod 63 are all carried byinterior escutcheon 38. Shafts coupling knob 30 and thumb turn 32 to theinterior parts pass through holes in the escutcheon and push rod 63 runsreciprocally in a channel formed on the inner portion of the escutcheonby ribs 64 and 65. The push rod is retained within the hollow escutcheonby retainer plate 72. Each of the legs 66 and 67 of push rod 63 is cutout to receive compression springs 68 and 69. The springs bear againstthe bottom of the cutouts and projections 70 and 71 urging push rod 63downward, thereby maintaining it in contact with cam 60. As knob 30 isturned, lobes 61 and 62 on cam 60 will engage leg 66 or 67 of push rod63, depending on which direction the knob is turned, and force itupward. If crank 37 is in the position as shown in FIG. 7, correspondingto the dead bolt being extended, the crank will be forced upward turningblade 51 such that the dead bolt will retract. The final position ofcrank 37 as knob 30 is turned as far as it will go is shown in FIG. 8corresponding to a fully retracted dead bolt. The same result will beobtained if knob 30 were turned in the opposite direction. It will berecalled that knob 30 is also coupled to spring latch 17 so that thelatch also will be retracted as the knob is turned, allowing the door toopen. Knob 31 will retract the spring latch, if turned, but unless thedead bolt has been retracted otherwise, the door will remain locked.

One of the problems in manufacturing and marketing of door locks is thematter of right and left-hand opening doors. Prior art panic proof locksrequire different parts to fit a left-hand opening door or a right-handopening door. In addition to extra costs for tooling, manufacturing andinventory, it is often the case that a builder is not sure how his doorswill open at the time of ordering, or his client changes his mind at thelast minute which results in costly exchanges. The invented lock avoidsall of these problems by being bidirectional. That is, the spring latchand dead bolt assemblies can approach the knob mechanism from eitherdirection. If the bolt and latch assemblies approach the knob mechanismfrom the left, as the door is viewed in FIG. 7, thumb turn 32 is turnedso that crank 37 moves to the left to extend the dead bolt and the upperend of the leg 67 of push rod 63 will bring crank 37 to the vertical toretract the dead bolt. On the opposite hand door, crank 37 moves to theright to extend the dead bolt and leg 66 serves to unlock the dead bolt.Thus, one set of parts are used for either kind of door, with consequentcost savings and convenience for the manufacturer, distributor, anduser.

A second problem, one which has plagued panic proof lock designers ishaving to design the mechanism which couples the knob to the dead boltso as to avoid the fasteners which retain the latch and bolt assembliesin place. It is conventional for the actuating mechanism for eachassembly, (the spring latch assembly and the dead bolt assembly) to bein separate cavities formed by boring separate holes through the door,such as holes and 81. The standard size for such holes is 2% inches. Themeans coupling the interior knob to the dead bolt retraction mechanismis contained within the inside escutcheon. A pair of screws passingthrough each of the 2% inch diameter holes, from the inside escutcheonto the knob rosette assembly or lock trim on the outside of the door, iscommonly used to retain all assemblies and trim in place. The spacewithin the inside escutcheon is limited and the presence of four screwspassing through the space complicates the design of a suitable mechanismby a considerable amount.

The invented lock solves this problem by utilizing a retainer plate asthe inside member for holding the latch and lock mechanisms, and theoutside trim in place. Two pairs of screws, 91, 92 and 93, 94, which arebest seen in FIG. 3, pass through the holes 80 and 81 in the door intothreaded holes in the outside lock and knob hardware. The screws alsopass through holes in the dead bolt and spring latch assemblies withinthe door thereby holding these assemblies in proper position foroperation. The top and bottom of retainer plate 90 is dimpled andthreaded at 95 and 96, and matching iholes through the escutcheon 38allow it to be attached to retainer 90 with screws 97 and 98. Thus, thescrews holding the latch andbolt assemblies and the external hardware donot extend into the inside escutcheon cavity and thereby make the designof the mechanism therein less difficult.

I claim: 1. A panic proof lock including a spring latch and a dead boltwhich comprises:

a. an interior escutcheon; b. a knob coupled to said spring latchcarried by said escutcheon; c. means for operating said dead boltcarried by said escutcheon; d. a crank coupled to said dead boltoperating means; e. a push rod, said push rod being adapted to turn saidcrank either selectively clockwise or counterclockwise to a positiongenerally corresponding to the open position of said dead bolt; and f.means for moving said push rod in response to totary motion of said knobwhereby said dead bolt and said spring latch can be simultaneouslyretracted by turning said knob. 2. A panic proof lock including a springlatch and a dead bolt which comprises: a. an interior escutcheon; b. aknob coupled to said spring latch carried by said escutcheon; c. meansfor operating said dead bolt carried by said escutcheon; d. a crankcoupled to said dead bolt operating means; e. a push rod, said push rodhaving two legs one of which is adapted to turn said crank clockwise toa position generally corresponding to the open position of said deadbolt, and the other of which is adapted to turn said crankcounterclockwise to a position generally corresponding to the openposition of said dead bolt; and means for moving said push rod inresponse to rotary motion of said knob whereby said dead bolt and saidspring latch can be simultaneously retracted by turning said knob. 3. Apanic proof lock including a spring latch and a dead bolt whichcomprises: a. an interior escutcheon; b. a knob coupled to said springlatch carried by said escutcheon; c. means for operating said dead boltcarried by said escutcheon; d. a crank coupled to said dead boltoperating means; e. a push rod, said push rod having two legs one ofwhich is adapted to turn said crank clockwise to a position generallycorresponding to the open position of said dead bolt, and the other ofwhich is adapted to turn said crank counterclockwise to a positiongenerally corresponding to the open position of said dead bolt; and

f. means for moving said push rod in response to rotary motion of saidknob, said means being a cam coupled to said knob, whereby said deadbolt and said spring latch can be simultaneously retracted by turningsaid knob.

4. A panic proof lock including a spring latch and a dead bolt whichcomprises:

a. an interior escutcheon;

b. a knob coupled to said spring latch carried by said escutcheon;

c. means for operating said dead bolt carried by said escutcheon;

d. a crank coupled to said dead bolt operating means;

e. a push rod, said push rod having two legs one of which is adapted toturn said crank clockwise to a position generally corresponding to theopen position of said dead bolt, and the other of which is adapted toturn said crank counterclockwise to a position generally correspondingto the open position of said dead bolt; and

f. means for moving said push rod in response to rotary motion of saidknob, said means being a cam coupled to said knob, said cam beingadapted to bear against said push rod as said knob is turned in eitherdirection, whereby said dead bolt and said spring latch can besimultaneously retracted by turning said knob.

5. A panic proof lock including a spring latch and a dead bolt whichcomprises:

a. an interior escutcheon;

b. a knob coupled to said spring latch carried by said escutcheon;

c. means for operating said dead bolt carried by said escutcheon;

d. a crank coupled to said dead bolt operating means;

e. a push rod, said push rod having two legs one of which is adapted toturn said crank clockwise to a position generally corresponding to theopen position of said dead bolt, and the other of which is adapted toturn said crank counterclockwise to a position generally correspondingto the open position of said dead bolt; and

f. means for moving said push rod in response to. ro-

tary motion of said knob, said means being a cam coupled to said knob,said cam being adapted to bear against said push rod as said knob isturned in either direction causing said push rod to move insubstantially reciprocal motion, whereby said dead bolt and said springlatch can be simultaneously retracted by turning said knob.

1. A panic proof lock including a spring latch and a dead bolt whichcomprises: a. an interior escutcheon; b. a knob coupled to said springlatch carried by said escutcheon; c. means for operating said dead boltcarried by said escutcheon; d. a crank coupled to said dead boltoperating means; e. a push rod, said push rod being adapted to turn saidcrank either selectively clockwise or counterclockwise to a positiongenerally corresponding to the open position of said dead bolt; and f.means for moving said push rod in response to rotary motion of said knobwhereby sAid dead bolt and said spring latch can be simultaneouslyretracted by turning said knob.
 2. A panic proof lock including a springlatch and a dead bolt which comprises: a. an interior escutcheon; b. aknob coupled to said spring latch carried by said escutcheon; c. meansfor operating said dead bolt carried by said escutcheon; d. a crankcoupled to said dead bolt operating means; e. a push rod, said push rodhaving two legs one of which is adapted to turn said crank clockwise toa position generally corresponding to the open position of said deadbolt, and the other of which is adapted to turn said crankcounterclockwise to a position generally corresponding to the openposition of said dead bolt; and f. means for moving said push rod inresponse to rotary motion of said knob whereby said dead bolt and saidspring latch can be simultaneously retracted by turning said knob.
 3. Apanic proof lock including a spring latch and a dead bolt whichcomprises: a. an interior escutcheon; b. a knob coupled to said springlatch carried by said escutcheon; c. means for operating said dead boltcarried by said escutcheon; d. a crank coupled to said dead boltoperating means; e. a push rod, said push rod having two legs one ofwhich is adapted to turn said crank clockwise to a position generallycorresponding to the open position of said dead bolt, and the other ofwhich is adapted to turn said crank counterclockwise to a positiongenerally corresponding to the open position of said dead bolt; and f.means for moving said push rod in response to rotary motion of saidknob, said means being a cam coupled to said knob, whereby said deadbolt and said spring latch can be simultaneously retracted by turningsaid knob.
 4. A panic proof lock including a spring latch and a deadbolt which comprises: a. an interior escutcheon; b. a knob coupled tosaid spring latch carried by said escutcheon; c. means for operatingsaid dead bolt carried by said escutcheon; d. a crank coupled to saiddead bolt operating means; e. a push rod, said push rod having two legsone of which is adapted to turn said crank clockwise to a positiongenerally corresponding to the open position of said dead bolt, and theother of which is adapted to turn said crank counterclockwise to aposition generally corresponding to the open position of said dead bolt;and f. means for moving said push rod in response to rotary motion ofsaid knob, said means being a cam coupled to said knob, said cam beingadapted to bear against said push rod as said knob is turned in eitherdirection, whereby said dead bolt and said spring latch can besimultaneously retracted by turning said knob.
 5. A panic proof lockincluding a spring latch and a dead bolt which comprises: a. an interiorescutcheon; b. a knob coupled to said spring latch carried by saidescutcheon; c. means for operating said dead bolt carried by saidescutcheon; d. a crank coupled to said dead bolt operating means; e. apush rod, said push rod having two legs one of which is adapted to turnsaid crank clockwise to a position generally corresponding to the openposition of said dead bolt, and the other of which is adapted to turnsaid crank counterclockwise to a position generally corresponding to theopen position of said dead bolt; and f. means for moving said push rodin response to rotary motion of said knob, said means being a camcoupled to said knob, said cam being adapted to bear against said pushrod as said knob is turned in either direction causing said push rod tomove in substantially reciprocal motion, whereby said dead bolt and saidspring latch can be simultaneously retracted by turning said knob.